There’s a suite of improvements to the Garmin Edge 540 and 840 from their predecessors, the most significant being the option for solar charging. Solar models use Garmin’s Power Glass to harness the sun and turn it into battery power, adding a claimed 25 minutes per hour during daytime riding – a huge win for those who ride pro hours, though for others, it may not be a factor given the already impressive 26-hour run time with non-solar models. But, certainly, no one in the Cyclist office has ever begrudged additional battery life.
The Garmin Edge 540 and 840 are almost identical, each with a 2.6” screen and 80g weight. They use multi-band GNSS, which is the leading GPS system globally, and offer targeted adaptive coaching to a rider based on recent training loads and other factors including sleep quality if the owner also has Garmin wearables. The main difference between the pair is the 840 can be operated with a touch screen or buttons, whereas the 540 has no touch screen.
One thing we love at Cyclist is the ClimbPro ascent planner, bringing Garmin into line with other computers we’ve tested and giving the rider real information about an upcoming climb (length, gradient, elevation) automatically. This feature used to only be accessible with loaded routes but now shows up on any hill longer than 500 metres and steeper than 3% grade.
There are other storage and capability upgrades (which most riders won’t need) so we recommend getting your hands on both models at your local dealer to see whether the touch screen on the 840 is worth an extra $150.
AU Pricing
$599 (Edge 540)
$749 (Edge 540 Solar)
$749 (Edge 840)
$879 (Edge 840 Solar)
For more information visit garmin.com/en-au.
